Mostly Italian (and some others) with friends (Trentina's): Betty ordered fish, so I had the waiter open this one as well as I thought it might be a better match. Probably was but this seemed to be the least favorite wine on the table. It is very good, but doesn't quite get past that. Ruby in color. The nose has cherries, vanilla, a bit of smoke. On the palate, there is a juicy acidity with nice cherry fruit. Some tannins. A slight complexity. It is very food friendly. Does not seem like it will get better but I don't think there is any hurry either.
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Suave nose of dusty dried red fruit, sweet mushroom notes, rose petals, crushed rock, and background aglianico-like notes of liquorice and herbs. Very pretty and sweet midweight midpalate, with relatively fine tannins on the finish. This is extremely pretty, and really competes with many other high end old world pinots and sangios.
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Nose extremely fragrant with a hint of VA that blew off quickly. Very red fruit profile of cherry, a bit of dried herbs, and from start to finish there is a sense of rocks and minerality, through to a drying finish. Very interesting and provocative wine.
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Similar notes to the last time I had this, although the oak seems to be more integrated. Grippy tannins, but more in balance with a much smoother finish than I remember.
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Decanted for about 3 hours. Nose was stronger on the woodiness than the Fuedo di Mezzo. The wood seems to overpower the fruit more on this one. Tannins are a bit stronger on the Guardiola than the Fuedo di Mezzo. Nice spiciness to the black and red fruits. Long finish. Great pairing with the Coq Au Vin.
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Garnet core, fading to ruby. Strawberry, cranberry, and thyme on the nose. Nice texture and flavors of red currant and strawberry. Sharp acidity and oak on the edges. Good wine but not the best bottle I've experienced from Terre Nere.
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Medium light red with some bricking. Piercing nectarine, watermelon, and red raspberry fruit through a veil of woodsmoke and sweetly spicy oak, with some cool green herbs (thyme, tarragon) emerging with air. There's a haunting undertone here too that's just too mysterious for me to figure out right now. In the mouth, it's tons of umami upfront, along with some relatively early and gritty tannin, although mouthwatering acids keep the tannin from drying out. Nevertheless, some bitterness remains. While promising and lengthy, this vintage of Guardiola is obviously in an awkward stage.
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Frankly, and I will say this as a lover of this wine, it never lived up to the promise. The massive oak has given way to a rather simplistic, earthy, maybe quite good Maranges rouge. Good as a close out at $20, stunningly over priced at the $50 I paid. But I still have more to explore...
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Not decanted, this took a solid 4+ hours to really unwind and start to show well. On the nose his has pure fresh red and black fruits, dust, lots of crushed rock and rainwater, some roasted herbs, and plenty of tension. I agree with other notes mentioning hints of lavender and anise. I don't notice heat though this is a big wine under the graceful nose. Strong iron minerality continues on the palate. A slight vitamin component in there. There is an acidic clench in there and the finish clamps a bit. A bit rustic in a charming way, lots of character and definite upside in a couple of years as it unwinds a little.
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I orginally believed this was oak quite heavily, not too heavily, just boldly. Now however the oak seems to have faded into the body. It is taking quite a long time to wake up -- 3 hours so far -- but what is appearing is a frangrant, chiseled, wine with great structure. We will see if the fruit emerges to hold it.
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Medium red at the core with translucent rim. Heady bouquet of alcohol, lavender, and anise. Not bad licorice drop and black fruit, but the mouthfeel and balance are wrong here-thin to medium body, raspy, and definite heat in the back of the mouth. Certainly drinkable but atrociously priced for what it is.
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A solid, structured wine. Better with food than on its own. Decent red fruits on the attack, a medium-bodied midpalate, and very firm tannins on the finish. Strangely reminded me most of slightly under-fruited Russian River pinot noir, with a bit of stoniness. On the whole, well made, but somewhat unexciting.
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For current consumption this is very disappointing in comparison to the Calderara bottling. It is beaten down by excessive wood and is showing more prominent acid with less fleshiness and mouthfeel. Could be that this will unwind and be something special, and I will find out down the road as I bought several based on the strength of the lesser bottling, but I am not optimistic. Based upon resampling this wine from another bottle, I believe this prior bottle was non-representative.
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Very good wine. Drank this with italian food and it was a vey nice evening. For me this has the accidity I often find in dolchetto but has more sweet, concentrated fruit.
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7/23/2016 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 90 Points
Mostly Italian (and some others) with friends (Trentina's): Betty ordered fish, so I had the waiter open this one as well as I thought it might be a better match. Probably was but this seemed to be the least favorite wine on the table. It is very good, but doesn't quite get past that. Ruby in color. The nose has cherries, vanilla, a bit of smoke. On the palate, there is a juicy acidity with nice cherry fruit. Some tannins. A slight complexity. It is very food friendly. Does not seem like it will get better but I don't think there is any hurry either.
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10/31/2015 - Yiannis wrote: 91 Points
Fully mature with intense leather and undergrowth, yet complex and elegant. No reason to cellar further.
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8/15/2014 - Haltermr wrote: 93 Points
Suave nose of dusty dried red fruit, sweet mushroom notes, rose petals, crushed rock, and background aglianico-like notes of liquorice and herbs. Very pretty and sweet midweight midpalate, with relatively fine tannins on the finish. This is extremely pretty, and really competes with many other high end old world pinots and sangios.
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12/15/2012 - wirelesswine wrote: 91 Points
Nose extremely fragrant with a hint of VA that blew off quickly. Very red fruit profile of cherry, a bit of dried herbs, and from start to finish there is a sense of rocks and minerality, through to a drying finish. Very interesting and provocative wine.
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11/21/2010 - Beavis77 wrote:
Similar notes to the last time I had this, although the oak seems to be more integrated.
Grippy tannins, but more in balance with a much smoother finish than I remember.
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4/17/2010 - Beavis77 wrote:
Decanted for about 3 hours.
Nose was stronger on the woodiness than the Fuedo di Mezzo. The wood seems to overpower the fruit more on this one.
Tannins are a bit stronger on the Guardiola than the Fuedo di Mezzo. Nice spiciness to the black and red fruits. Long finish.
Great pairing with the Coq Au Vin.
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11/19/2009 - SevenDayMile wrote: 88 Points
Garnet core, fading to ruby. Strawberry, cranberry, and thyme on the nose. Nice texture and flavors of red currant and strawberry. Sharp acidity and oak on the edges. Good wine but not the best bottle I've experienced from Terre Nere.
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9/12/2009 - tcfishler wrote:
Medium light red with some bricking. Piercing nectarine, watermelon, and red raspberry fruit through a veil of woodsmoke and sweetly spicy oak, with some cool green herbs (thyme, tarragon) emerging with air. There's a haunting undertone here too that's just too mysterious for me to figure out right now. In the mouth, it's tons of umami upfront, along with some relatively early and gritty tannin, although mouthwatering acids keep the tannin from drying out. Nevertheless, some bitterness remains. While promising and lengthy, this vintage of Guardiola is obviously in an awkward stage.
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7/15/2009 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Frankly, and I will say this as a lover of this wine, it never lived up to the promise. The massive oak has given way to a rather simplistic, earthy, maybe quite good Maranges rouge. Good as a close out at $20, stunningly over priced at the $50 I paid. But I still have more to explore...
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5/19/2009 - pbjosh wrote: 91 Points
Not decanted, this took a solid 4+ hours to really unwind and start to show well. On the nose his has pure fresh red and black fruits, dust, lots of crushed rock and rainwater, some roasted herbs, and plenty of tension. I agree with other notes mentioning hints of lavender and anise. I don't notice heat though this is a big wine under the graceful nose. Strong iron minerality continues on the palate. A slight vitamin component in there. There is an acidic clench in there and the finish clamps a bit. A bit rustic in a charming way, lots of character and definite upside in a couple of years as it unwinds a little.
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4/8/2009 - nzinkgraf wrote:
Italian Tasting (Waterford Wines Milwaukee): bittersweet chocolate. meaty. lavender. middle of the road red fruit, but really more herbaceous.
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4/5/2009 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Interesting tertiary aromas. Almost like Pinot Noir. But then the pasta was served and we were five wines in.
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12/20/2008 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
I orginally believed this was oak quite heavily, not too heavily, just boldly. Now however the oak seems to have faded into the body. It is taking quite a long time to wake up -- 3 hours so far -- but what is appearing is a frangrant, chiseled, wine with great structure. We will see if the fruit emerges to hold it.
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11/7/2008 - drwine2001 wrote:
Medium red at the core with translucent rim. Heady bouquet of alcohol, lavender, and anise. Not bad licorice drop and black fruit, but the mouthfeel and balance are wrong here-thin to medium body, raspy, and definite heat in the back of the mouth. Certainly drinkable but atrociously priced for what it is.
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7/19/2008 - BeavisCC wrote: 87 Points
A solid, structured wine. Better with food than on its own. Decent red fruits on the attack, a medium-bodied midpalate, and very firm tannins on the finish. Strangely reminded me most of slightly under-fruited Russian River pinot noir, with a bit of stoniness. On the whole, well made, but somewhat unexciting.
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6/30/2008 - pbjosh wrote:
For current consumption this is very disappointing in comparison to the Calderara bottling. It is beaten down by excessive wood and is showing more prominent acid with less fleshiness and mouthfeel. Could be that this will unwind and be something special, and I will find out down the road as I bought several based on the strength of the lesser bottling, but I am not optimistic. Based upon resampling this wine from another bottle, I believe this prior bottle was non-representative.
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4/30/2008 - PourritureNoble wrote: 91 Points
Very good wine. Drank this with italian food and it was a vey nice evening. For me this has the accidity I often find in dolchetto but has more sweet, concentrated fruit.
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4/6/2008 - keelegl wrote: 87 Points
No formal notes. Interesting wine, tasted like a more acidic pinot noir. Decent food wine, but nothing memorable.
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